Storm runs over Crew (even while running themselves out)

 The Crew started strong, scoring four in the first. Storm had to buckle down, dig deep, look within themselves, and decide which Storm team was going to show up. Apparently they chose the one that hits well. Undaunted by the deficit, Storm strung together solid singles and doubles and mercied The Crew in the first.

Storm held the Crew to 1 in the second and doubled that tally to increase the lead to 8-5. It was still a close game, though, as The Crew scored two to make it 8-7 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Storm only managed one, and it was 9-7 after three.

Captain Underpants put the hammer down in the fourth and kept the Crew off the board for the next two innings. Storm would score five in the fourth with homers by The Captain and The Palindrome accounting for all the runs. Storm was defensive in the final frames allowing one run across the final four while being offensive enough to open up a significant lead.

The lead covered up a multitude of sins on the base paths. Duran put himself in to courtesy run instead of Mills and then got thrown out at home. For those keeping track, this is Duran's third consecutive game getting thrown out on the bases. Sam I am also had a number of adventures on the basepaths. He tagged on a short fly to left field that fell in and then almost got thrown out on the force at 2nd. The very next play he didn’t tag on a line drive to right field where he could have advanced easily, and on his next trip around the bases, he got thrown out at 2nd to end the inning. 

I am Sam. Sam I am.

I run the bases like Duran

We run around like no one can.

We run without a single doubt

But suddenly we’re both thrown out.

Duran must learn he’s getting old,

And Sam must do as he is told.

Storm    18   -   The Crew 8 

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
The Crew	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	8
Storm	6	2	1	5	1	3	x	18

Notable Boxscores:

The Captain - 4 for 4, HR,4RBI, 3 runs

The Palindrome - 4 for 3, HR 3RBI, 3 runs

Captain Kangaroo - 3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI

Captain Underpants - 3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI

Cycle Watch:

The Captain and the Palindrome both missed the triple.

Storm victorious over the Brew to finish off the Season

Good day everyone Scoops Jockovitch here after a lengthy high anus, sorry, hiatus of broken jars, a dalliance with A Net and recovering from what I’ve been told is a global pandemic. I’m pretty sure Chip had the Covid and used my jar as a Kleenex receptacle.

Nonetheless we battle thru, as does your Storm thru what has been another exciting season within the WMSPL. This last game saw the Orangemen facing the Playlisters themselves the lads that Crew together Brew together for the season finale for both teams. According to those eggheads that are interested in such things as statistics and standings, this game could mean a lot to both squads. With a victory the Storm would move into 1st place ahead of the…………A’s ( had to take my time there) and if the Barley Boys pulled out a win they would leap into 4th place ( better seeding in the playoffs) However, to quote the only man whose starred in a Soap Opera and was a pop sensation, Rick Springfield “ The point was probably moot” As the …………A’s take on the Buellers later this week and can nail down first with a win.

But a game must be played…and it was. The Stormies started strong, some may say too strong, scoring 4 in the first based around 2 over the fencers by the BK and THE BOB ( was this not a show in the 80’s? If not it should be). Those two Mr. Simpsons would stand for quite awhile as that motley Crew wouldn’t hit one until the 6th. And speaking of 6 ( wonderful segue there!) the motley Crew kick started their hearts with a max 6 in the first with some solid "hit it where they ain’t” hitting. End of the first Crew 6 Storm 4

Top O’ the second saw the Tank Engine help his own pitching cause by nailing a triple to the wall only to be driven in by the “ Space” man with a solid single to his favourite field. Big Daddy D matched the Tanks 3 bagger and the Pylons cashed in 3 to retake the lead. Some solid D and some pinpoint lobbing of the ball by the Tank held the Malted ones to a solid 0 calories. 7-6 Storm

In the 3rd, the game started, like my 4ths wife cold dry heart,  to open up a bit. With 7 straight hits the Hommes d’orange cashed in the Max and despite THE BOB becoming the sacrificial lamb having to play 3rd base due to roster shortages your lads in tight pants kept the Brown Bottles to just 3 runs - Storm remain ahead 13-9

The 4th would see each team swap ( insert your own joke hear) a pair of runs with THE BOB still being picked on at 3 and Rick O’Shea forgetting what a routine double play looks like. Storm 14 - Crew 11

To the 5th we Kgo and an Kunfortunate series of Kevents was starting to take Kplace. Hindered by their 2 early Mr. Simpsons, Big Daddy D was suffering from what can only be medical called Overt Whifftitis. In layman’s Kterms swinging and really missing the ball. Previous innings saw huge individual Kexamples  of Overt Whiffitis but in the 5th Big Daddy D became Big Daddy K. A sight even rarer than hearing the mating squeals of the North American Fisher ( Pekania pennanti,Fisher Sound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal). This mighty Kasey seemed to throw off the following batters leaving the Storm plating only a single, whilst the Shotgunners plated another deuce to make the game a tight one. Storm barely holding on 16-13

The 6th saw some interesting defence maneuvers by the Orange infield. A soft roller up the first base line saw the Tank engine chug his way over to the line, snag the ball and run around the Space Man to beat the runner to first. The rare 1-1 put out. This was not the first creative play involving the Space Man as earlier he juggled a ball on his glove almost all the way over to second base before flipping a lame duck to BK covering second , only to have that duck pop out of the glove and lie quite dead on dirt. Our lads squoze out a threesome to pad their lead while holding the Crew to a single run. 19-14 heading to the 7th.

The 7th for your Occluded Ones saw Rick O’Shea leg out a double and Big Daddy K redeem himself with a very angry HR ( the ball could be heard screaming in fear as it disappeared into the inky night! Scoring 4 and being up 9 going into the bottom of the 7th the Storm felt they had a strong leg to stand on for victory. However, the Crew felt differently about that leg as they did their best to take The Tank Engine's leg out. A hard line shot up the middle saw the ball careen off the Tanks right leg. His teammates concern for his well being as he lied on the ground like a premier soccer player, was so overwhelming the didn’t play the ball until after the batter had reached 1st. With a lot of intestinal fortitude and even more Tylenol once he got home the Tank carried on and the Storm shut down the Crew to only 3 runs cementing a victory and a very solid season.

Final score 23-17

Will the…………..A’s pull out a victory over the Buellers to take first, only time will tell ( and with the A’s time is ALWAYS a factor)

This has been Scoops Jockovitch intrepid sports reporter!

Check out the Podcast of the game as reported by;

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	4	3	6	2	1	3	4	23
The Crew	6	0	3	2	2	1	3	17

 

Storm's offence brews up late victory

 Storm and Brew Crew played an extremely tight back and forth game filled with some great defensive plays and some timely hitting.

Storm shut down the Brew Crew in the first after a couple of ground balls to third led to a short inning. Storm started strong. Storm strung together a bunch of singles and scored six. Good job, because they basically forgot how to hit for the next five innings. Storm only scored one over the next three frames while the Crew brewed up eight runs. 

Both teams played excellent defence. The hot corner lived up to its name as both teams hit a number of hard ground balls to third that would be recorded as outs. The outfielders for both teams covered a lot of ground and very few balls fell in. The Crew outscored Storm from the 2nd through 6th innings 9-3. The game was tied going into the seventh. The Crew managed a run and took the lead. 

A storm was brewing in the bottom of the seventh, however. With thunder rumbling and lightning flashing, Storm came up down one run for the final inning. The first two batters got out, putting a lot of pressure on Big Daddy D. He singled to get the ball rolling. Baby Kangaroo somehow managed to get a short fly ball to hop out of the shortstop’s glove and Big Daddy D made it all the way around to 3rd. Some quick and insightful coaching caused Storm to pinch run Special K for Baby Kangaroo (who has gone hopless). This was a big deal as the next ball was a one hopper to short. He checked Big Daddy D at 3rd (not sure why with two outs) then quickly turned to second to discover that Special K had been eating his Wheaties and was already at second. By the time he looked to first, Lancer Beam had lasered into first. It would be ruled a fielder's choice. The fielder chose to do nothing. Al then drilled single and Big Daddy D and Special K scored for a dramatic win.

Before the game Al had asked some members of the team if it was better to get a lead and the give up a bunch of runs putting pressure on holding the lead, or falling behind and putting the pressure on trying to come back. Apparently Storm really wanted an answer to this question as they did both in this game. They took a six run lead, gave it up, and then had to come back. But all’s well that ends well and Storm took home a much needed victory in a tight game.

Check out the Podcast of the game as reported by;

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
The Crew	0	3	2	3	0	1	1	10
Storm	6	0	1	0	1	1	2	11

The Cowboy and the Jinx

 Scoops Jockovitch here with the latest and meh-ists of your boys in Orange!

It was with a very short if non-existent bench that the Stormies faced off with, gosh darn it,  the most funnest bunch of lagerheads in the WMSPL the Crew that Brews. What do they Brew you ask? A darn good time, I say!

The Cloudy Boyz infield was like my second honeymoon …people in being put into positions they are not comfortable with.

With outfielders at short and Second and second on third it was an Abbot and Costello routine if Abbot and Costello were middle aged out of shape white guys…oh wait! They were.

With their entertaining musical ways the Yeastie Boys fought for their right to score zero in the 1st whilst, the Orangemen scored a thumbless hand with Big Poppa D leading off only to be forced out at second by a weak infield hit by the Missing Link. Luckily the Lancerbeam, The Grand Kevin , Captain Underpants all got hits with Young Southie going DEEEP- Score after 1 4-0 storm

The Draftsmen pulled a single pint in the 2nd while the Occluded Front began to struggle going 3 up 3 down on 4 pitches in the second - 4-1 Storm

Norm Petersons favourite team was equally blanked  in their part of the third by the pinpoint accuracy or the darts being thrown by Captain Underpants.

Having been forced out in the 1st inning Big Daddy D made it his mission to have the Missing Link perform his least favourite thing ( other than bathe) and that is to lead off innings. However, through pure sacrificial virginal goat luck he ( like me on a Thursday night swiping right) started off a streak of 5 singles in a row, all ( unlike me on a Thursday night) scored. With BDD ending the inning to torture the poor ML once again. - End of 3 - Storm up 9-2

The 4th would see the BC get some hops and plate 2 despite some sparkling D by the hodge podge Storm D. Young Southie made a highlite reel catch over his shoulder in shallow left and Millz  ( the Z stand s for Zoom!) made the first of two shoestring catches in right right centre ( because he can)

Offensively the 4th was pretty offensive with The Hommes d’Orange deciding to see how short their pop-ups could be. To the catcher, to the pitcher… known here to fore as a Pulling a Cowboy. Luckily the star of 127 Days hit a solid 2 bagger and score with a Captain Underpants single - Storm leading by a Smoky and the Bandit 10-4

The Opening innings beckoned as the Men of the Amber Nectar added another 3 to their tally spanking shots down the third baseline nearly waking up the Storm 3rd basemen, luckily he remained happily slumbering away.

Stormies plated 6 despite the Lancerbeams league leading out by HR due to Big Daddy D growing weary of torturing the Link with a lead off satellite.

Going into the 6 the the Pylons had  (one would think) a commanding lead of 16-5

Anyone smell foreshadowing or is that fresh bread doctor?

The defensive monkey started his usual dance in the top of the 6th with the Young Southie proving there are 2 sides to even coin by playing some soccer with a softball. The comatose 3rd baseman somehow decided to do a Mike Palmetter impression having a kick save and a beauty  to stop a ball. Millz used his shoestrings again and almost doubled up the runner at first if not for the mysterious hole filled glove of The Chimney. All this to be capped of by some more footie at second base by the wonderful dance duo of YS and the Beam.

The AleHeads scored another 3 while shutting out the Storm going into the 7th - Storm up 16-8 

This score led the Captain to state that he had never finished an 8pm game before nightfall. 

Cue the Jinx!

The Crew of Brew tapped into something special for their half of the 7th scoring a Dick van Patten 8 to tie the score at 16. What would the Storm do? Could they pull defeat out from the jaws of victory? Would they become just another victim of The Cowboy? Is their 3rd baseman even breathing?

These questions were answered by the man who  always comes in hard to third leading off with a single, only to be followed up by 2 quick outs. Luckily the Shoestring man can also hit as he punched a double to the gap causing the second oldest man on the Storm to score from first! 

After the use of a defibrillator and some really unnecessary mouth to mouth the lads we love scraped victory out 17-16.

*** On a side note - this game scored more runs that the last Storm game and yet was finished faster?  It reAlly mAkes you think whAt could be the cAuse of the some of these slow pAced gAmes?

This is Scoops Jockovitch intrepid sports reporter

Check out the Podcast of the game as reported by;

Scoops Jockovitch and or Chip Merriweather

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
The Crew	0	1	0	1	3	3	8	16
Storm	4	0	5	1	6	0	1	17